Construction of drawers and the like.



PATENTED MAY 22, 1906.

I. H. ATHEY. GONSTRUCTION OF DRAWERS AND THE LIKE.

APPLICATION FILED JULY 3. 1905.

2 SHEETSr-SHEET 1.

FIG. 2.

ATTORNEY made of two pieces of, preferably,

ISAAC H. ATHEY, OF

CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOR TO DUST PROOF FURNITURE COMPANY, A CORPORATION OF ILLINOIS.

CONSTRUCTION OF DRAWERS AND THE LIKE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

:atentec. may 22, 1906.

Application filed July 3, 1905. Serial No. 268.268

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ISAAQH. ATHEY, a citizen of the United States, residing at Chicago,

.vide the greatest possible convenience of arrangement without sacrifice of strength and permanency.

With the above and such other objects as,

will appear hereinafter in view my invention consists in the novel construction, combination, and arrangement of parts hereinafter described in detail, illustrated in the drawings, and incorporated in the claims.

In the drawings, Figure 1 is a perspective view of a double drawer embodying my invention. Fig. 2 is an enlarged perspective view of the forward section of a single drawer seen from the rear and taken substantially on line Y Y of Fig. 9. Fig. 3 is a perspective view of a single drawer constructed in accordance with my invention. Fig. 4 is a section of the front end of the drawer shown in Figs. 2 and 3, taken substantially on line X X of Fig. 9. Fig. 5 is a side view of the entire front end of the drawer, the rear end being broken away. Fig. 6 is a side elevation of the drawer shown partly in section. Fig. 7 is a transverse section through the drawer, taken substantially on line Y Y of Fig. 9. Fig. 8 is a bottom plan view of the drawer partly broken away intermediate of its ends. Fig. 9 is a top plan view of the drawer. Fig. 10 is a detail view taken from Fig. 1. 1

Referring in detail to the drawings, and first to the construction of the single drawer shown in Figs. 2 to 9, inclusive, the sides and rear end of the drawer 2 are formed from a single strip of sheet metal. The bottom is wood, (designated, respectively, as 3 3 The bottom sections 3 3 are bound together at the sides of saic bottom.

front end by a sheet-metal strap 4, which is curvate in cross section, and therefore passes around the ends of bottom members 3 3 and enga es both the upper and the lower At the rear end the bottom members 3 3 are supported upon a strap flange or ledge 5, which is formed by bending inwardly the lower edge of the sheetmetal back 6. The upper edge of said back is also bent; but the latter bend is in the form of a hook-flange 7, which engages the narrow or upper edge of an approximately wedgeshaped locking-piece 8. The latter is driven in tightly between the hook-flange 7 and the bottom pieces 3 and 3 and clamps the latter firmly between said locking-piece and the flange or ledge 5, making a rigidly-connected bottom and rear end for the tray or drawer and assisting materially in supporting the comparatively flexible sheet-metal sides 9 and 10. The sheet-metal sides 9 and 10 have also their upper and lower edgesbent,v

the latter having flanges 11 and 12, similar to the flange 5. The rear ends of flanges or ledges 11 and 12 meet the ends of flange or ledge 5 in miter-joints 13 and 14, as shown plainly in Fig. 8. The upper edge curvature of each of the sides 9 and 10 takes the form of an outwardlybent hanger bracket or drawer-support comprising a horizontal wing 15, the edge of which is turned downwardly to provide a flange 16. Fig. 2 illustrates two methods of employing the laterally-projecting wings or supports 15. To the right a slide-rail 17 for the drawer to move upon is shown held in the channel formed by the upper portion of side 9, the wing 15, and flange 16. T o the left the dotted lines show an antifriction-ball 18 in position in said channel, in which case the latter serves as a ball-race, wherein 15 is the track and 10 and 16. the sides, which confine'the balls upon said track. Other modifications in the employment of the bracket portions of the sides 9 and 10 will doubtless suggest themselves to those skilled in the art, and I do not wish to be confined to these particular arrangements. The bottom-supporting ledges or flanges 11 and 12 have upturned edges in the form of ribs 19 and 20, which engage suitable kerfs or sawouts made for them in the bottom pieces 3 and 3 and support the sides 9 and 10 against spreading apart. The sheet-metal sides 9 and 10 are bent also at their forward ver tical edges. In this instance the forward.

a projecting pin or stop 27, that limits the outward swing or opening movement of the front 25, which is hinged to the bottom members 3 3 at 28 and 29. These hinges may be placed either on the upper or'under side of the bottom and serve to hold its members 3 3 against relative lateral movement, and thus aid the strap 4 in giving strength to the front of the drawer. A latch in the form of an elbow-lever 30, sprin -pressed by a flat spring 31 and having a hook 32, which engages a notch 33 in the wing 15, serves to lock the front against the forward ends 21 and 22 of the drawer 2. This elbow-lever catch is pivoted to the channel-piece 23. The inner flanges 25 25 are made wide enough to close the triangular space betweeneach drawer end and the front 25 when the latter is tilted forward into the position shown in Fig. 5. The inner edges ofthe bottom pieces ormembers 3 3 have concaved recesses 34 and 35, respectively, adapted to hold without other fastening means a trough 36 for the well-known follower-rod 37, which forms no part of this invention. As shown, the trough 36 has sides which are curved to fit the recesses 34 and 35, so that the trough cannot drop out of same and is in harmony one of the objects of the invention disclosed by the foregoing descriptionnamely, to avoid special fasteners, such as screws or nails, for the different joints. The forward end of the trough 36 enters the curvate strap 4. The rear end thereof is held between the ledge 5 and locking-piece 8 and abuts the innor face of the sheet-metal back 6. It is thus interlocked with the drawer against movement in all directions.

In Fig. 1 is shown a double drawer in which is a partition 38, the rear end of which is held in a shallow mortise made in the locking-piece 8, (otherwise the same as lookingpiece 8.) The dotted lines at 39 indicate how the rear end of the partition 38 is held against lateral movement without materially weakening the part 8. The bottom 40 and the hook-flange 7 support the rear end of the partition 38 in a vertical direction. When the invention is embodied in the form of a very wide drawer with two or more partitions 38 secured to the bottom 40 and locking-piece 8, the partitions lend rigidity to the. drawer as a whole and are not liable to become loose, owing to the interlocking con-' s truction described in the foregoing. The

flange 25 25". If the drawer has more than two partitions 38, the flanges 44 when necessary may be provided with the hooks 26 and the partitions 38 with stops 27. The dotted lines show in Fig. 1 the position of the channel-piece 43 with respect to front 42 and partition 38.

Having described my invention, I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent 1. A sheet-metal drawer-body comprising sides and back consisting of a single piece of sheet metal having integral bent portions which support the bottom and integral bent portions which support the drawer as a whole upon its bearings, an angularly-movable front, a bottom comprising a plurality of members arranged to be supported relatively to each other by said front and said sides and back, and means whereby said front may be moved to open and close same without leaving any openings between said front and said sides.

2. In a drawer, the combination of a back and sides made from a single piece of sheet metal, said sides and back having inturned flanges which constitute supporting-ledges, a bottom consisting of a plurality of members, such as 3 and 3, supported upon said ledges, and a front hinged to said members so that said front serves to support said bottom members relatively to each other at the forward end of the drawer.

3. In a drawer, the combination of a sheetmetal drawer-body the sides and back of which are one piece of sheet metal said sides and back having inwardly-turned flanges constituting supporting-ledges, the upper portions of said sides having channels formed by bending the metal outwardly and downwardly said channels adapted to serve either as ball-races or as supports for slide-rails such as rail 17 and a bottom supported on said ledges.

4. In a drawer, the combination with a bottom having saw-kerfs or grooves therein, of sides and a back made out of sheetmetal, the lower edges of said sides and back bent inwardly, said inwardly-bent portions constituting ledges and said ledges having ribs thereon which enter said kerfs or grooves and support said bottom against sliding movement on said ledges, and a front hinged to the forward end of said bottom, said front provided with channel-pieces having wings which engage opposite faces of the forward ends of said sides and close the spaces between said ends and front when the latter is tilted forward to its open position.

5. A sheet-metal drawer-body comprising sides and back; a bottom consisting of a plurality of separate members; means upon said sides and back which are integral parts thereof, for supporting said bottom in both a vertical and in a horizontal direction; an angular movable front, said front pivoted to said members separately and thereby serving to hold same against relative movement at the forward end of the drawer; means upon said front for closing the triangular spaces between the open position of said front and the forward ends of said sides, said means together with the pivoting of said front serving to sup port said sides, bottom and front rigidly relatively to each other when the front is closed, and means consisting of a locking-piece and an integral portion of said back for making the rear end of the drawer rigid.

6. A drawer having relatively immovable sides, back and bottom, said sides and back consisting of a single piece of sheet metal the lower edge of which is bent inwardly and the inwardly-bent portion 4 constituting ledges for said bottom to rest upon, said bottom consisting of members 3 and 3 having in their adjacent edges grooves 34 and 35; the trough 36 fitted into and held by said grooves; a front hinged separately to said members so that it binds the latter together and holds the forward end of said bottom relatively to said front; the curved strap 4 covering and supporting the forward ends of members 3 3 said sides having upper portions in the form of channels adapted to serve as supports, the catch pivoted to said front and arranged to interlock with one of said sides and the channel-pieces secured to said front, said channel-pieces having flanges which engage opposite faces of said sides and one thereof having a hook 26, the pin 27 which limits the outward swing of said hook and therewith the outward tilting movement of said front and the ribs 19 which enter the under side of said bottom and hold it against sliding move ment on said ledges.

7. The combination, with a comparatively rigid bottom, of a sheet-metal body comprising sides and back having flanges which overlap said bottom at its edges and constitute sup orting ledges, the upper edge of said bac being in the form of a hook-flange; a locking-piece arranged to be clamped between said hook-flange and said bottom for the purpose of making said sides, back and bottom relatively rigid, each of the outer vertical faces of the sides being provided with a channel-piece adapted to serve as a ball race or retainer for the slide-rail the front hinged to the bottom; the channel members secured to said front and having wings or flanges which engage opposite faces of said sides, and means for locklng said drawer in a closed or open position.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

ISAAC H. ATHEY. Witnesses:

FRED. L. KOEHLER, J. EDWARD KING. 

